Tuition Scholarship Program for Dependents and Spouses Florida State University:

Florida State University provides an opportunity for full-time employees (faculty and staff) to apply for a scholarship for their dependent or spouse to be used towards the cost of tuition for an undergraduate or graduate education at FSU. The University will choose at random from a pool of eligible recipients and will award limited scholarships not to exceed a total of $75,000 scholarship benefits for the program. For each dependent child or spouse selected, the University will provide $630.42 per semester towards the cost of undergraduate tuition, or $2,421.06 per semester towards the cost of graduate tuition for fall and spring of the academic year.  NOTE: In accordance with IRS regulations and University policies, employees whose spouse or dependent receive the scholarship for graduate tuition, the employee will be responsible for the applicable payroll taxes, which will be deducted from the employee’s paycheck during the term that the student receives the scholarship.

As the pool is limited, not all applicants will be selected. At the time of application, faculty or staff seeking more than one scholarship should indicate whether the first dependent/spouse is pursuing undergraduate or graduate hours and the applicant that should get priority.  Scholarships for multiple dependents or spouses will only be provided if the pool has not been depleted. If the pool is depleted, there will be no additional scholarships beyond one per faculty or staff member.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Full-time faculty and staff who have completed one year of continuous service by August 8, 2022, including faculty members on sabbaticals or on professional development or grants-in-aid leave, are qualifying University employees whose dependent(s) or spouse are eligible for the Tuition Scholarship Program for Dependents and Spouses.
• For the purposes of this program, a “dependent” is any natural, adopted, or stepchild of the employee, or any other child for whom the employee is a legal guardian, under the age of 24 as of the first day of classes for the semester. Also considered a dependent for purposes of this program are children 24 or older who are natural, adopted, stepchildren, or any other child for whom the employee is a legal guardian as long as the employee’s federal tax return indicates the child is a dependent or that the employee pays 50% of that child’s support, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code. Special circumstances that suggest consideration of a case not fitting the above definition of "dependent" should be presented to the Chief Human Resources Officer.
• For purposes of this program, “spouse” refers to a faculty member’s legally-recognized marriage partner.
• The scholarship is limited to academic courses and the following are ineligible: Remedial math (i.e. MAT1033); Applied music; Graduate course in the College of Medicine and College of Law; Physical Education Activity courses; Dissertation, thesis, directed individual study (DIS), internship, supervised research, supervised teaching, exam, portfolio, or other one-on-one courses; audited courses; Center for Academic and Professional Development courses;  and, all non-state funded courses or sections (including some distance learning courses that are funded solely by student tuition and fees).
• A graduate dependent or spouse is ineligible for the scholarship if currently employed on a graduate assistantship.
• A dependent child or spouse must meet the admission standards of Florida State University and be admitted to Florida State, seeking an undergraduate or graduate degree in order to qualify for the tuition scholarship. In order to receive the scholarship, students must currently be in good academic standing as defined by the University Registrar.
• An undergraduate dependent must take at least 15 credit hours per semester, including the scholarship program hours. In the event that the 15-hour requirement is unreasonable or unnecessary, the scholarship recipient can petition his or her academic dean for an exception and, if approved, the scholarship will remain available to the recipient. A graduate dependent or spouse must take at least 9 credit hours per term, including the scholarship program hours. In the event the 9-hour requirement is unreasonable or unnecessary, the scholarship recipient can petition the academic dean or equivalent in their college/school for an “underload”, and if approved, the scholarship will remain available to the recipient. This exception request is semester-based and, if approved, pertains only to the specific semester for which the petition was submitted.

In order to be placed in the scholarship drawing, the following must be submitted to the Office of Human Resources no later than the close of business by the application deadline:

1. Completed Scholarship Application signed by both the employee and the student. The official application form is available here: Employee Dependent Scholarship Application.
2. Applications must be submitted with the following supporting documentation or will be considered incomplete. Note: Personal information will be kept confidential to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Dependent eligibility: The documents required to verify each type of employee/dependent relationship are outlined below:

1. Biological child - Government-issued birth certificate identifying the employee as the student's parent.
2. Adopted child - Finalized adoption records or an adoption placement agreement.
3. Step Child - Proof of marriage, AND records showing that the dependent is the employee's spouse's biological or adopted child.
4. Ward - Records showing legal guardianship or court-ordered custody.

Proof of legal guardianship and/or dependency can also include:

1. A copy of the employee's most recent federal tax return for dependent children 24 or older; or
2. A copy of the employee's Immigration documents, if applicable.

Spouse Eligibility: A valid marriage license

1. If applicable, an official notification from the academic dean that the undergraduate or graduate dependents or spouse’s petition for an exception to the 15 or 9-hour course load requirement has been approved.

The Office of Student Business Services will process the scholarship and post it to the student’s FSU bill on the fifth day of class, by close of business.

Undergraduate scholarship recipients will be awarded $630.42 per semester, and graduate scholarship recipients will be awarded $2,421.06 per semester towards the cost of tuition for the Fall semester and the Spring semester pending the following:

• Continuation of the tuition scholarship is contingent upon remaining in good academic standing (undergraduate GPA of 2.0 or higher) as certified by the University Registrar. Students on warning, probation, dismissal or reinstated from dismissal-while eligible to enroll-may not be eligible for the scholarship until their GPA returns to a 2.0 or higher.
• A dependent child or spouse loses their eligibility if a Student Code of Conduct violation results in their expulsion, suspension, expulsion from residence halls, or involuntary withdrawal.

Financial Obligations:

After the scholarship is applied to the awarded student’s account, students are responsible for all remaining fees, including those related to books, supplies, building, capital improvement, student financial aid, activity and service, athletic, health, transportation, etc. Employees whose dependent or spouse receive the scholarship for graduate tuition will be responsible for applicant employment taxes which will be deducted from the employees paycheck during the term that the student receives the scholarship.

Questions regarding the application process and employee eligibility should be forwarded to the Office of Human Resources at dependent-scholarship@fsu.edu. Scholarship recipients with questions regarding their student financial account should contact the Office of Student Business Services at (850) 644-9452.